


In Praise of the Feast at Ivrin

by Himring



Category: TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms, The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Beleriand, Cross-cultural, First Age, Gen, Mereth Aderthad, Poetry, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2017-04-22
Packaged: 2018-10-22 12:53:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 192
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10697409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Himring/pseuds/Himring
Summary: Of the Feast of Reuniting at the pools of Ivrin it is said that the joy of that feast was long remembered in later days of sorrow.





	In Praise of the Feast at Ivrin

**Author's Note:**

> This is a poem in praise of a canonical event of the First Age. It was written for the LOTR Community challenge on LiveJournal, which asked for an "Ode to Arda". My personal prompt was "mist/kissed" (it was not a requirement to use this for a rhyming couplet).  
> I've dropped the regular metre that might be expected of an ode entirely, but I have tried to retain the three-part structure that classical odes sometimes have.  
> Also, as Tolkien says of Nienna, my song of praise turned to lamentation before its end...
> 
> Also, with thanks to bunn for a comment about Fingolfin that inspired the choice of subject.

That was a great feast!  
Everyone came: from the mist-kissed north  
the High King himself,  
from the thundering Sea came the Mariner,  
the Hunters from the green wood.  
From the uplands and the plains we came,  
from the valleys and the moors.  
Oh, but it pains my heart to know  
that we shall meet no more on the banks of Ivrin.  
  
Cousins greeted each other and strangers.  
Gifts were exchanged, customs explained,  
each word not understood found a translator.  
Bounty of the High King: there was no such thing  
as an empty cup, no empty hand or platter.  
How the wine flowed and the laughter!  
The shared laughter of my people blended with music--  
like the sunlight on the waters of the pools at Ivrin.  
Oh, but it pains my heart to say  
that we shall meet no more on the banks of Ivrin.  
  
We parted in friendship, each to his own land returning.  
None among us who did not look back at least twice,  
none who did not wish to retrace his steps...  
Oh, but it pains my heart tonight  
that we shall meet no more on the banks of Ivrin.

**Author's Note:**

> The High King is the High King of the Noldor Elves, Fingolfin. The Mariner is Cirdan. The Feast of Reuniting (Mereth Aderthad) was a reunion both of family members among the Noldor and of different groups of Elves in Beleriand: Noldor, Sindar and Nandor (hence the different languages and need for translation).  
> My use of the prompt ("mist-kissed north") is a reference to Fingolfin's own particular realm: Hithlum, land of Mist.


End file.
